'I don't give credence' to hacked emails, Kaine says

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said Sunday that observers should be careful not to take hacked campaign emails at face value.

Pressed by Martha Raddatz on ABC's "This Week" about comments made about Catholics attributed to Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri in a recently released trove of emails, the Virginia senator stressed that readers should consider the motives of both WikiLeaks and the Russian government.

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"I don’t give credence to any of these dumped documents because I don’t even know if they’re accurate, and they are part of an effort by the Russians and WikiLeaks," Kaine said in an interview. Both Russia and the pro-disclosure group have been widely viewed as seeking to influence the presidential election.

Russian hackers are widely believed to be the source of the emails that WikiLeaks has been publishing.

Kaine referenced an email containing his name that he contended was "completely inaccurate."

"Now, was it inaccurate because the sender didn’t know what he or she was talking about? Was it inaccurate because it was doctored?" Kaine asked. "I have no way of knowing."

Responding to a perception by some that the campaign was mocking Catholicism, Kaine — a Catholic — said he and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have "talked about our faith lives."

"I can tell you she views at it as a plus, just as she views her own Methodism as a plus," Kaine said of his religious views.

"We all have opinions, and I don’t think you need to apologize for your opinions," Kaine said, adding that "in terms of respect for the church and people’s faith lives, Hillary Clinton has that respect because it’s what motivates her."